Animal rights campaigners staged a protest at the University of Nottingham against experiments on rabbits.

The Animal Justice Project group aims to highlight the fate of animals that die behind the closed doors of research labs, claiming universities are failing to come clean about "out-of-date" and "futile" tests conducted on rabbits.

Latest Government figures show 9,498 rabbits were used in lab experiments in the UK in 2017.

The Animal Justice Project group claims there is increasing evidence universities are trying to hide their involvement in rabbit experiments, and animal testing in general.

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A spokesman from the University of Nottingham said: “Nottingham is committed to using animal-free research wherever possible and is a world-leader in developing animal-free testing methods. Animal studies are still important where animal-free models cannot mimic the sheer complexity of the human or animal body.

“The cholera study was undertaken for the WHO and government of India to develop treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections. Demonstrating it worked successfully in rabbits was a vital step towards a new cure for a disease which affects millions of the poorest people worldwide.

“We proactively publish all details of our animal testing programme on our public webpages and respond to all freedom of information requests.”

Each year Animal Justice Project submits Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to individual universities inquiring about the numbers and species of animals they use in research.

Between 2016 and 2019, the number of universities answering the requests fell from 57 to 29.

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Of the 22 universities believed to be most involved in animal testing, the number responding to the requests dropped from 20 in 2016 to 18 in 2017, 17 in 2018, and so far just three this year.

More than half the universities contacted this year have refused or failed to provide the information asked, the group claims.

They include many universities that complied with FoI requests last year.

Animal Justice Project estimates that around 26 experiments are conducted every day on rabbits in the UK.

Claire Palmer, founder of the group, said: "In this day and age, with increasing numbers of vegans living compassionate lifestyles, animal experiments like those we have uncovered in universities will be unpalatable to many. Particularly when they involve rabbits - a much loved animal who some share their home with.

"Disturbingly, thousands of rabbits are being used in UK laboratories and universities just won't tell us what is happening to them."

The group's "Missing" campaign, backed by celebrities including actor Peter Egan and musician Moby, aims to shine a light on the "secretive world of rabbit experiments".

She said: "A few UK universities use rabbits in research, but rabbits overall make up 0.3 percent of the animal research that happens in this country and only a quarter of that takes place in universities.

"If alternatives to animal research are available and have been validated by regulators then it is illegal to use an animal and the research will not receive a licence from the Home Office. So rabbits are only used for safety testing, for instance to check that a vaccine will not cause fever in babies and children, when there is no non-animal alternative available.

"Of course, cosmetic testing using animals has been banned in the UK for the last 20 years and household product testing is also subject to a policy ban in this country."

The University of Nottingham's animal research page can be found here: